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Beyond the volatility: is a near-term recession likely?

August has been a highly volatile period for the financial markets. Reignited trade tensions and recent yield-curve inversions have spooked investors, culminating in a 3% drop in the S&P 500 Index on Aug. 14, its worst day of the year. Ivy provides its perspective on these two market moving events.

Ivy Live/ 8.22.19

FAANG: In the government's crosshairs

The big four tech giants – Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google – are facing antitrust investigations and scrutiny over data privacy. And surprisingly, the push is gaining bipartisan support. Is it just noise for the tech sector or a larger threat to investors?

Market Perspective/ 8.05.19

Fed cuts rates; where do we go from here?

The Fed announced a much-anticipated one-quarter-percentage-point cut to the federal funds rate. Following the decision, Fed Chairman Powell's press conference commentary was perceived as unexpectedly hawkish. While the market had a 'buy the rumor, sell the news’ reaction, but we believe underlying fundamentals should support continued growth during the rest of 2019.

Maximizing the Value of 529 Plans

Parents are preparing their kids to head back to school as the topic of affording college tuition looms large. Discover how you can help your clients with 529 plans.

Genlink

Attracting assets in motion

Over the next few decades, client assets currently held by Traditionalists and Baby Boomers will be controlled by Generation Xers and Millennials, reshaping the traditional financial advisor model. Discover how you can plan for each generation.

Genlink

Why advisors need to understand each generation

Navigating generational differences can be tricky, whether you’re speaking to a younger client or chatting with a long-time client that might be your parents’ age. Knowing each generation can lead to a growing and stable practice.

Ivy Investments

We stand for a legacy of expertise, focused on delivering strong, long-term results. Our name reflects our progressive product offerings and growing global presence as we continue to adapt to the needs of investors.

Portfolio Perspectives

Seeking durable quality in a volatile market

The past six months has been “a tale of two quarters,” but also part of a new market reality. The
Fund’s blended structure seeks to build a portfolio with equilibrium of risk and reward to withstand
this type of highly volatile environment.

Forgive us for co-opting the Charles Dickens’ classic
A Tale of Two Cities, but it serves as a good frame of
reference for asset class performance over the last
six months ending March 31, 2019.

Intense volatility throughout the fourth quarter of 2018
triggered dramatic declines across all equity indexes. This
selloff was accentuated by the December performance of
the S&P 500 Index, the Fund’s equity benchmark, which
plummeted 9% for the month, marking its worst
performance for the final month of a year since 1931.
On the fixed income side, the yield curve flattened with
the spread in yields between the 2-year and 10-year
Treasury notes narrowing to 19 basis points (bps) at
year’s end, coming uncomfortably close to inversion*.
Fast forward to March 2019. The equities selloff has
reversed, with the S&P 500 Index up 12% since the
start of the year while fixed income markets appear
to be holding steady.

(* An inverted yield curve occurs when the yield on a fixed-income instrument, or bond, with a
shorter duration is higher than the yield on a bond with a longer duration. An inverted yield
curve has been a precursor to every modern-era recession.)

It’s against this erratic backdrop that the Fund offers a
strategy looking to optimize the equilibrium of risk and
reward while seeking to manage volatility.

The Fund is a blended strategy with predictable guardrails
that generally invest at least 50% of its assets in equities
and at least 30% in fixed-income securities, giving investors
the chance to seek consistent growth and current income
while managing risk.

The equity portion of the portfolio typically holds a
limited number of stocks (generally 45–55), with a
maximum sector weight of 35%. We look for profitable
companies and identify the fundamental drivers of those
returns and the likelihood they can sustain growth
projections over a two- to three-year investment horizon.

Our fixed income approach focuses on companies with
solid balance sheets and cash flow metrics, with at least
70% of the fixed-income portion of the portfolio comprised
of investment grade debt securities.

The Fund’s current allocation (as of 03/31/2019) is 64%
equity and 35% fixed income, with the balance invested in
cash. Over the course of the last six months, the Fund’s
allocation was relatively stable outside of impacts from
market action. These periodic bouts of volatility can be
unnerving, but the Fund’s performance over the past 12
months is a reminder of the value of patient, disciplined
investing with a long-term perspective.

What is durable quality?

We define durable quality as the ability for a security to
exhibit above-average profitability that has the potential to
persist over time. The Fund is predicated on finding
investment ideas we believe demonstrate durable quality
from the universe of profitable companies.

Part of our screening process includes an assessment of
companies by their structural competitive advantages.
These metrics can include a company’s brand equity,
proprietary technology, economies of scale and capital
intensity. We further narrow the list to companies we believe
are trading at a reasonable valuation with visible catalysts
that can help drive high performance over the next year or
beyond. The remaining pool of candidates is sufficiently
small and relatively stable, allowing our team to adequately
vet and identify attractive investment opportunities.

Our emphasis on durable quality helps us to sharpen our
focus on what we believe are successful and proven
companies whose pedigree inspires our belief in them across economic cycles. Equally important, it disciplines us to reduce
or divest positions when relative valuation suggests their
inherent characteristics are fully appreciated by the market.

Assessing holdings with our approach

Let’s look at how we apply our durable quality
investment philosophy.

Union Pacific Corp. (UNP)

Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM)

Market Cap: $120 billion

Market cap: $31 billion

Valuation: 18 times2019 earnings estimates

Valuation: 26 times2019 earnings estimates

Current fund holding: yes

Current fund holding: no

UNP is the most profitable U.S. railroad company with an
expansive physical rail footprint. However, its operating costs,
adjusted for length of haul, were above the industry average. In
response, UNP implemented an efficiency strategy it believes
will improve the company’s efficiency ranking to a best-in-class
level over the next several years. In our view, this idiosyncratic
driver of earnings growth is an underappreciated catalyst,
which is not reflected in UNP’s current valuation using its
forecasted 2019 earnings.

YUM is a quick-service restaurant holding company comprised
of three chains: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco
Bell. These brands have successfully brought innovation to
their menus with an emphasis on value that has resulted in
strong same-store sales, net new unit growth and profitability.
YUM’s success has been recognized by the equity market and
its valuation metrics have expanded meaningfully over
the past five years. While we continue to believe in YUM’s
business model, our valuation discipline motivated us to
close our position in this holding after several years of
profitable ownership.

While uncertainty and volatility ebb and flow, we believe a
blended portfolio of assets, diversified across sectors, with
security selection governed by a disciplined emphasis on
finding what we believe to be durable quality will continue
to be a sound approach for investors. Across economic cycles
and irrespective of market moods, this approach has served
investors well and our confidence in it has not waned.

Ivy Insights podcast

This content is for Investment Professional use only. Please register for access.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The opinions expressed are those of the Fund’s managers and are not meant as investment advice or to predict or project the future performance of any
investment product. The opinions are subject to change at any time based on market and other current conditions, and no forecasts can be guaranteed. This commentary is being provided as a general source of
information and is not intended as a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold any specific security or to engage in any investment strategy. Investment decisions should always be made based on an investor’s
specific objectives, financial needs, risk tolerance and time horizon.

Risk factors: The value of the Fund’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate risk and, as such, the net asset value of the Fund may fall as interest rates rise. The lower-rated securities
in which the Fund may invest may carry greater risk of nonpayment of interest or principal then higher-rated bonds. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loan participations in
which the Fund may invest carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. Loan participations may be unsecured or not fully collateralized may be subject to restrictions on
resale and sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market. The Fund’s emphasis on dividend-paying stocks involves the risk that such stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform non-dividend
paying stocks and the market as a whole over any period of time. In addition, there is no guarantee that the companies in which the Fund invests will declare dividends in the future or that dividends, if declared, will
remain at current levels or increase over time. The amount of any dividend the company may pay may fluctuate significantly. In addition, the value of dividend-paying common stocks can decline when interest rates
rise as fixed-income investments become more attractive to investors. This risk may be greater due to the current period of historically low interest rates. The Fund typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally
45 to 55). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Fund will have a greater impact on the Fund’s net asset value than it would if the Fund invested in a large number of securities.
The value of a security believed by the Fund’s managers to be undervalued may never reach what the manager believes to be its full value, or such security’s value may decrease. Not all funds or fund classes may be
offered at all broker/dealers. These and other risks are more fully described in the Fund’s prospectus.

The S&P 500 Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that measures the large-capitalization U.S. equity market. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Highlights

- Volatility is likely to persist throughout 2019.

- The Fund looks to optimize the equilibrium of risk and reward while seeking to manage volatility.

- Our strategy is predicated on investing in companies that exhibit durable quality.

The financial products and services described in this website are offered only in the United States, Puerto Rico
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nothing in this website should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell such products
and services in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction.

IVY FUNDS® mutual funds and IVY VARIABLE INSURANCE PORTFOLIOS® are managed by Ivy Investment Management Company and are distributed by Ivy Distributors, Inc., InvestEd℠ Portfolios are managed by Ivy Investment Management Company and are distributed by Waddell & Reed, Inc. These financial products are offered by prospectus only. Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. is the ultimate parent company of Ivy Distributors, Inc. and Waddell & Reed, Inc.

Before investing, investors should consider carefully the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a mutual fund or portfolio.
This and other important information is contained in the prospectus and summary prospectus, which may be obtained here or from a financial advisor.
Read it carefully before investing.

IVY INVESTMENTS℠ refers to the investment management and investment advisory services offered by Ivy Investment Management Company, the financial services offered by Ivy Distributors, Inc., a FINRA member broker dealer and the distributor of IVY FUNDS® mutual funds and IVY VARIABLE INSURANCE PORTFOLIOS®, and the financial services offered by their affiliates.